Pas de Deux
by glowoffantasy
Summary: "This is not goodbye, this is just a see you later Sunshine." Juice/OC. Rated T for mild language.


**A/N:** Hey guys, this is another short (but not so short) story I've been working on. I can definitely see this turning into a series, however, for now this is just going to be a one shot, because I'm really busy and I should be writing term papers instead of these romance stories. Please review and let me know what you think, I'm really curious!

* * *

I couldn't believe I was here. I had been driving around Charming for half an hour now, and my nerves still hadn't settled. I was here. He was here. Somewhere in my mind I kept hearing _14 years_. That's how long it had been since I'd seen him, and somewhere in my heart I wouldn't mind adding at least another 14. But I also knew that he was the only reason I was here in the first place.

I decided to give my mind a break and stop at the local diner. I took a booth at the window. I'd always loved to watch traffic go by, the sound of cars passing was a familiar sound to me. I grew up in New York, Queens to be exact, and there was always noise in New York. This little town was too small for my liking. The diner closed at 10, the grocery store not open after 7. No way I could get some pizza delivered here in the middle of the night. Not that I ate pizza, but it's the thought that counts. I love the city; I don't know what I'd do without it. Little towns like this just creeped me out. I felt like I was constantly being watched because nobody knew me here. I loved the anonymity the city provided. Blending in with the masses, becoming totally invisible – that's when I felt most at home.

The waitress gave a smile when she walked up to me. "Can I get you anything doll?" I took a quick peek at the menu, but it seemed like this wasn't the best place for me. I'll just have a Caesar's salad and a water, thank you." She raised an eyebrow and gave me a one over. I felt the judgement dripping from her face, and I was longing back to New York. I was completely out of place here.

My order came, and I took slow bites of my salad. It wasn't too bad, but it had too much sauce on it for my liking. The bacon didn't help either. After I finished half my plate, I decided I was done. I paid my bills and stood up, eager to get out of here.

When I made it back to my car, I took a deep breath and decided I was going to do what I came here for. I had passed by the auto shop three times now, so I knew exactly where it was. I pulled up on the parking lot, took another deep breath and got out. The big Teller-Morrow sign beamed up at me, and I could see several mechanics working in the shop. It seemed like business was ok, a lot of cars were waiting to be worked on. I saw some parked motorcycles as well, but I already knew that this was the home of the Sons of Anarchy. I had done my homework. Some bikers were sitting outside on a picnic bench smoking and drinking, even though it was only 1 in the afternoon. I could feel their stares on me as I walked towards the office, but I couldn't be bothered too much. I was used to being watched.

I knocked once on the door, which had been open, and took a small step inside, taking off my sunglasses. A woman was sitting behind the desk, filling out some paper work when she looked up to me. "Hi, what can I do for you?" She gave a slight smile. "Hi, my name is Audrey, I'm looking for Carlos, is he here? I was told I could find him here." I gave her a slight smile. She looked at me confused. "Who?" My mouth shut in surprise. "Eh, Juan Carlos Ortiz? Isn't he a mechanic here?" I stammered a little bit.

_Please let me be in the right place, I didn't work up this courage for nothing!_

Her face looked like a light bulb suddenly went on. "Oh! You mean Juice! Yeah he works here. What do you want from him?" She was a suspicious lady, I could tell by the way her eyes tried to stare me down. "I ehm, I'm an old friend of his. I was in the neighbourhood and thought I should stop by, see how he was doing."

_Well, if you could call San Francisco in the neighbourhood... But it beats New York._

"He's not in right now, but you're welcome to wait. Can I grab you anything?" She asked me as she walked out the door, motioning me to follow her. I decided not to get on this lady's bad side; she was quite the intimidating figure. "Oh, I'm good thanks, I just had lunch." "So how do you know our Juice?" The interrogation continued and she was making me even more nervous than I already was. "I grew up with him, he was the kid next door back in Queens." That was already more information that I had been willing to give up. She spun around. "Look, you're not here to start trouble are ya? Juice is a good kid." When the word 'kid' left her mouth, she stopped walking. "He's not your baby daddy is he?" I laughed at that. "Oh no, no I've never been pregnant." I avoided the question she had actually asked, and I knew that she knew. She was a calculating woman alright.

We stopped at the picnic table. "Boys, this is Audrey, she's waiting for Juice. Be nice, I actually got shit to do." And with that she walked away, leaving me alone with the four bikers. "Ay lass, whaddya need Juicyboy for? I'm sure I can entertain ya while ya wait." He said, while his friends slapped him on the shoulder appreciatively. The man had a Scottish accent and scars on his face. To be honest, he scared the living shit out of me. It must have shown on my face because the men started laughing even harder. I didn't know how to respond, so I just stared at them. The Scotsman must have seen my discomfort and decided to play nice. "Hey lass, I'm just messin' around. You look like you got a pole up your tiny little ass."

I don't know what came over me, but my mouth moved on autopilot before my brain had even began to come up with a response. "No, just my butt plug."

This really cracked up the guys, especially when they saw my horrified face. "I – I have no idea where that came from, I am not wearing a butt plug... I don't even own a butt plug!" "Well that's a damn shame doll." another mane spoke. He had short black hair, including some facial hair and really blue eyes. The blond man decided to give me a break. "Hi, I'm Jax, the Scot is Chibs, and those two are Tig and Happy." He spoke as he pointed at the black haired man and the bald man respectively. I nodded at them. "Hi, I'm Audrey, but I guess you all knew that already..." These men were making me nervous, mainly because they looked like criminals. They probably were criminals.

"Hey, relax, we're not gonna hurt you. Please stop looking at us as if we're gonna tear you limb from limb." Jax spoke up again, and I nodded, relaxing a little. They were Carlos' friends, and I knew he had a good judge of character, so they must be alright. "Well, unless you wanna join me in the bedroom, sweetheart." The man who was introduced as Tig spoke up. "Shut up Tig, can't ya see she ain't interested?" Happy said, and boy did his voice sound like the rumbling of a thunderstorm. I was not expecting that. "Woah, you got quite the set of pipes." I said. Happy just smirked, keeping his attention on me.

"So what do you need Juice for? You can't be his girl, otherwise the idiot never would've shut up about you. You are way out of his league." Tig said. I raised my eyebrow at him, not impressed with his lousy ass compliment. "Juice is a childhood friend, and whether or not he's gotten in my pants, he's sure as hell got a better chance than you do. I don't like people who talk down on their friends." "Who said I'm his friend doll?" Tig said smirking, which threw me off a bit.

Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle engine grew, as a bike pulled up on the lot. By the colour of the man's skin, I could immediately tell it was Carlos, and my breath got stuck in my throat. He got off the bike, and I assumed he hadn't seen me yet, because he took his sweet time taking off his helmet and sweater. He finally walked over to the guys, barely giving me a second look. I think I looked like a fish on land, gasping for water, because the guys all started laughing again.

I couldn't believe he didn't recognize me. I mean, I was sure I had changed in 14 years, but I knew it was Carlos the instant I saw him. "What?" He asked the guys, who were amusing themselves at my expense. "Your lady friend here was waiting for you." Jax pointed at me, and Carlos turned around. He looked at me with a confused look on his face. "I don't know you lady, who are you?" I took a deep breath. "You really don't remember me, Carlos?" I asked with the pain and hope present in my voice. His face scrunched up in exactly the same cute way it did when he was younger. This really was Carlos. I could see the wheels turning in his head, and slowly the pieces came together.

"AUDREY?!" He practically yelled as he picked me up and spun me around. I hugged him back and laughed. He really hadn't changed that much, even though his exterior hid that pretty well. He finally put me down, only to pull me into another embrace. "God, I can't believe you're here. It must have been..." His voice trailed off as he started counting in his head. "14 years." I helped him out. I heard a few 'damns' in the background.

I looked up at Carlos. He looked the same, but his eyes were different. He had seen a lot over the past years, and it seemed that he wasn't dealing with everything in the most effective way.

"How are you? Why are you here? How did you get here? I mean, how did you find me?!" Especially that last question was important, I could tell by the tone of his voice.

"I'm good Carlos. It's really good to see you again. I can't believe you didn't recognize me!" I laughed, changing the subject. I didn't want to talk about all that in front of these guys. "Well, you look so different! Your hair's different, your posture is so different, and well, you know, your body is different." He spoke that last one softly, and I chuckled as I saw his eyes go to my breasts. I slapped his arm softly. "Well, yeah, that happens when a girl grows up. The last time you saw me I was 17. I'm a woman now. Besides, you've undergone some changes mister. All chiselled and covered in ink." I stated as I ran one hand over the tribal tattoos on his head. It looked really good in combination with that short-trimmed mohawk.

I heard some coughs besides us and we snapped from our little moment their. The guys were all grinning at Carlos like they knew something I didn't. "Come on man, we got work to do." Jax spoke, and all the guys got up and walked towards their bikes.

I sighed in disappointment. I knew that coming unannounced was a bad idea. I only had the afternoon left before I had to get back to San Francisco. "OK, I gotta head back anyway. I didn't want to disturb you or anything." I spoke the words, but I didn't really want to say them. Carlos looked up at Jax. "Hey man, do you really need me? I would be eternally grateful if you could give me the rest of the day off." Jax looked at us, sighed, then nodded. "Fine, but you gotta be prospect for a week to pay off this debt. You're gonna be our bitch again, brother!" Carlos nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah man, no problem. Whatever you say." The guys all laughed at his eagerness. It's probably a good thing I didn't know what was going on in those dirty little heads of theirs. They started their bikes and quickly drove off.

Carlos grabbed my hand and dragged me to his bike. He gave me his helmet and I looked at him like he grew a second head. "Come on, hop on! You'll love it, I promise." He smiled that wide smile I knew so well, and I melted a little. All those old feelings came rushing back and overwhelmed me. I stared in his eyes a couple seconds longer, until I couldn't resist any more. He was already seated as I climbed on the bike behind him, wrapping my arms around him securely and placing my feet on the metal bars. Then, he was off.

We must have driven for at least half an hour, and I enjoyed every second of it. The wind against my face, and the vibrations of the engine, but most of all, I enjoyed the closeness of Carlos' body. He had definitely grown up over the years; his body rock hard, his skin smooth and tender. My head started filling up with all these memories I had pushed away for so long. His mouth on my lips... Us out in the city...

Before I could wander off too far in lala land, he pulled his bike over near a cabin at the edge of a small forest. I got off the bike and handed him back his helmet, which he put on the bike. He grabbed my hand again, sending butterflies down my stomach. We walked to the cabin, and Carlos pulled the key out of his pocket. "Is this yours?" I wondered out loud. "Nah, it used to be Piney's, but I guess it belongs to the club now..." I could hear some pain in his voice and I put my free hand on his upper arm for support. I couldn't help but notice how solid his arm felt.

He walked to the back of the cabin, where there was a small porch, which looked out over a small lake. The whole scenery was beautiful and tranquil, and I could almost stand the quiet out here.

Carlos let go of my hand and motioned me to sit down in one of the chairs. "You want anything?" He asked as he walked back inside. "Some water is fine." I could hear him chuckle and pull a beer out of the fridge.

_I guess alcohol mid-day was a common habit here in Charming._

He quickly walked back out again with indeed a cold beer in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. I thanked him quietly and watched him settle down in the chair. He moved with so much confidence, I was in awe. I remembered him being so insecure about himself, so it was good to see he had finally found a place where he fit in.

"So, you gonna tell me how you found me?" He asked me, looking me in the eyes directly. "I did my very best to hide myself from everybody back east. I shouldn't be found. You know what could happen." He spoke softly, but urgently. I nodded and took a sip of water. "You're forgetting one thing, Carlos." He looked up at me. "And that is?" "You taught me everything I know about computers. I know your patterns, your style. Hell, I know you. And I know how you think, how you would alter your patterns, your codes, to make them look less like you. I admit, it took me 12 years to finally find you, but I know you." I looked him in the eye, and he knew I was right. He sighed deeply. "Please tell me no-one else knows." "No-one else knows sweety. I am the only one." Carlos let in a deep breath out of relief. "Good. Now, why are you here?" "I could ask you the same question. You were the one who left, remember?" I asked back. "You know why I left. They would have killed me if I stayed." I sighed. "Yeah, I guess they would have."

We remained quiet for a couple seconds, thinking back to Queens, and the danger he had been in. I knew deep in my heart that him leaving was the only way he would live, but it broke my heart.

I snapped out of it, and gave him the answers he was looking for. "I dance for the New York City Ballet, but my career is almost over. I'm doing one last tour of the country. I'm quite a well-known dancer if you must know. I was in San Francisco and had a day off, when I realized that you lived here in Charming. It's not that far of a drive, so I picked up a car this morning and drove out here to see you. It's been too long, Carlos." I finished, my voice heavy with sorrow. Carlos was looking at the ground now. "Wow, so you followed your dreams. That's amazing Audrey." He gave me a genuine smile, but it wasn't a happy one. "But why is your career almost over? You're only 31!" I smiled at his ignorance. "Yeah, exactly. I'm 31. I've been standing on my toes in pointe shoes for over 20 years now. If I continue much longer, I can seriously damage my feet, but the top performances cannot be done without them. But it's OK. I knew this day was gonna come soon, and I am looking forward to a new beginning. I'm thinking of starting my own dance studio and teach. Or maybe become a choreographer. I don't know yet." I smiled at him. "And how long are you here for?" I sighed, not liking the answer. "Just today, I have another training and performance tomorrow in San Francisco, then I'm flying to Chicago. Only a couple more stops to go and then my professional dance career is over."

I didn't like how depressing this conversation was getting, so I decided to change the topic to Carlos. "So what's up with the nickname Juice?" He grinned at that, and started to spill the whole story of how he had joined the Sons of Anarchy. By the sparkle in his eye I could tell that he had finally found himself a home, a place where he belonged, and I couldn't be happier for him. We talked for hours, catching up on all of that lost time. I was so proud of all the things he had accomplished, even though he kept saying it was nothing in comparison that what I had achieved. He was so modest, always putting himself down. I frowned a little when I realized he was still in the habit of sabotaging himself every now and then. I heard the term 'idiot' fall several times, before I stopped him.

"Hey Carlos, don't call yourself an idiot. And don't let Tig put you down. You're an amazing guy. And you remember my personal mantra?" I asked him, and he grinned when he remembered. Our eyes locked for a second, then we both yelled out "FUCK EVERYBODY!" as loud as we could. Some ducks flew up at the sudden disturbance, but we were just laughing, being silly. I felt young again, younger than I had felt in a long time. Being a professional dancer was amazing, but I had been focused on my career for as long as I could remember. Back in the days, it had always been Carlos who managed to take me away from my responsibilities, even if it was just for an hour. I missed that feeling, and I missed him.

The sun was slowly disappearing behind the trees, and I got up out of the chair. "I need to get back, Carlos. I need to drive back to San Fran and return the car. I don't want to pay a late fine." "Oh come on, you're such a goody two shoes, never doing anything even remotely dangerous. Come on, have dinner with me. After that, I'll make sure you get to your car and we can each go back to our own lives." He tried. "No, Carlos, really. I need a good night sleep. I can't screw up tomorrow; I'm on a tight schedule. I'm not even supposed to be here in the first place." "Sunshine, don't do that to me! You know you want to stay for dinner." He grinned at me. The nickname brought back some more memories. I always loved it when he called me Sunshine, especially because good things tended to happen afterwards. Mainly because he knew that he'd only have to call me Sunshine once, and I'd pretty much do anything he told me to. I had grown a little more resistant to the nickname, but the barrier crumbled quickly when he gave me another one of those million dollar smiles. I swear to god, that boy is going to be the end of me.

I sighed deeply, and muttered out a quiet 'fine', not liking it that he got the better of me _again_.

His grin just got wider as he cleaned up our few dishes and we walked out of the house. The drive back to Charming was a little less pleasant because the evening was settling in and it was starting to get a little chillier. After 5 minutes I was shivering behind Carlos, and he was noticing it. He pulled over, took off his sweater and put it on me. I started to protest, but he cut me off, claiming that I couldn't get sick if I had to perform tomorrow.

He pulled over at the diner where I'd had my lunch as well. I groaned a little, hoping that the waitress was now off duty. Carlos grabbed my hand again, dragging me with him into the diner. It was a little busier than it had been in the afternoon, but there were enough window booths open.

We sat down across from each other, and just my luck, the same lady was serving us. She cocked her eyebrow at me noting that I was sitting there with a member of the local MC. I shrugged it off and ordered water. Carlos quickly corrected that and changed it into a coke. I groaned softly, knowing how this dinner was going to end: with the two of us stuffed to the rim. I glared at him a little, but he just smiled. I couldn't stay angry for long.

"So now that we know all about our successes, is there anything that I should know about back in New York that isn't as great?" He was fishing and I knew it, but I decided to play along for now. "Well, Mariana and Sebastian got married." I said, referring to our friends from high school. His eyes got as big as saucers. "No way! I thought those two couldn't stand each other!" I chuckled at that. "Well, I'm really hoping that they can, because they already got two kids." His mouth dropped open at that proclamation. "They were the last two people I would have imagined getting married to each other." I laughed again at his ignorance. I had always known those two would end up together, the chemistry was coming off those two like nothing I'd ever seen before. "Of course you wouldn't." I joked, and I saw him narrowing his eyes at me, trying to figure out if I had just insulted him. He really could be slow sometimes.

"Anything else I should know?" I sighed. I knew I should tell him, but I didn't really know how. He must have seen the troubled look on my face, because he quickly pulled my chin up, and looked me in the eyes. Those kind eyes, I could probably drown in them. "Hey, Sushine, you can tell me." I closed my eyes, and nodded, taking a deep breath for courage. "My dad passed away three years ago from pancreatic cancer." "Oh shit, Audrey, I'm so sorry." He quickly left the booth to come sit next to me and give me a hug. I buried my head in his chest and I noticed how well toned his body really was.

_I cannot be thinking about his body right now..._

We stayed like that for a couple of seconds, when the waitress brought us our drinks. "Anything you want to eat?" "Yeah, I'll have the special with an extra set of bacon, and she'll have your house burger with sweet potato fries instead of regular fries please." Carlos smiled up at her, and I could see her grin a little. I softly slapped his arm as retaliation for ordering me a dinner I should not eat. I was always very cautious of my wait. Some of the outfits in the show were custom made, so I needed to stay perfectly within my weight range. I was just really happy I'd only half finished my salad for lunch.

45 minutes later we were both stuffed. Juice ended up eating half of my plate on top of his own, because I simply could not finish my meal, even though it was absolutely delicious. "I really can't remember the last time I had a burger." I sighed, fully satisfied.

"You should live a little Sunshine, I can see how much you need me in your life to add a little..." he was looking for the right word. "Fizzle?" I filled in. "Yeah! Fizzle! You always know what to say." I grinned. It felt so comfortable to be falling in this routine again with him, even though it had been over 14 years.

Unfortunately, I knew the inevitable was coming. I had to say goodbye soon. "Carlos, I really have to get going soon." His face fell a little, but suddenly he nearly jumped up from excitement. "But not just yet! We gotta have some dessert. They have the best warm chocolate brownies here with vanilla ice cream and whip. Come on, that's our thing. You can't go before dessert!" I sighed, as I once again was talked into staying a little longer. I have to admit, I was happy he wanted to spend the day with me, but I really did need to get back to San Francisco.

Dessert was pure bliss, definitely one of the best brownies I'd ever had, even if I could only manage to eat a couple of bites, once again leaving Juice to deal with it – which he happily did. "See, I told you it was good, didn't I!" I laughed at him. He was still that goofy kid I grew up with; he was just packaged in really sexy body now. He totally caught me off guard when he asked me the age old question I should have known was coming, but was unprepared for because I hadn't seen him in so long. "Penny for you thoughts?" I blushed, trying to come up with anything but what I had just been thinking. However, my brain betrayed me and I drew a blank. "Come on, be honest!" He nudged me a little. I sighed and finally managed to mumble "Iwasthinkinghowsexyyouwere". He grinned at me, obviously catching what I'd said, but playing ignorant. "I'm sorry Sunshine, I didn't hear that." I sighed again, my cheeks burning red. I had no game whatsoever with guys, my career had always been my first priority. "You know what I said Juice, please don't make me repeat it." I begged him, but he wouldn't budge. "Fine, I was thinking that you grew up to be a really sexy man with an amazing body." He grinned at that statement. "You're pretty damn hot yourself." He simply replied, leaving me blushing even more. He quickly got up to pay the bill, which I tried to fight, but he wouldn't have any of it.

He drove me back to the garage so I could pick up my car. I didn't want to say goodbye to him. Seeing him just made me realize how much I had missed him, and I couldn't tell him goodbye again. He hugged me, and whispered into my ear "this is not goodbye, this is just a see you later Sunshine. Because I will see you later."

I don't know where it came from, or how he had managed to find the guts, but as we were in our final goodbye he placed a light kiss on my lips and lingered there for just a couple of seconds. It was sweet and perfect, and just what I needed. When we pulled apart, I lowered my head, trying to hide my smile from him, but he noticed. I knew he noticed.

* * *

The whole way back I could only think about one thing: his lips on mine. It had been years since we kissed, but the same fire that had been there when were we young was still there.

I couldn't help but smiling, and the next day, the dancers in my company also noticed that I was different. I couldn't explain it to them; I could barely even explain it to myself. But as I was stretching for our rehearsal, everything felt like it was going how it was supposed to be going. I was on fire, and for once, our choreographer managed to give a slight smile, a truly unique fact.

In the evening, I was feeling on top of the world, Carlos' words ringing through my mind: _this is not goodbye, this is just a see you later Sunshine_. And I couldn't help but smile. I danced like I had seldom done before, and the audience would not stop applauding. My company gave me many compliments and I couldn't be happier. Or so I thought. Because when I finally managed to make it to my dressing room, I was shocked to find Carlos standing there, in a tuxedo with a giant bouquet of red roses in his hand. I gasped slightly at his presence, tears welling up in my eyes from sheer happiness.

"You were fantastic out there Sunshine, so damn beautiful." I let out a laugh and ran up to him, finally kissing him like I had been wanting to for 14 years.

Tonight was truly perfect.


End file.
